“increasingly gloomy about the future of human civilization”

“Those of us who spend our days trawling – and contributing to – the scientific literature on climate change are becoming increasingly gloomy about the future of human civilisation,” said Liz Hanna, convener of the human health division at the Australian National University’s climate change Adaption Network. ‘We are well past the time of niceties, of avoiding the dire nature of what is unfolding, and politely trying not to scare the public. The unparalleled setting of new heat extremes is forcing the continual upwards trending of warming predictions for the future, and the time scale is contracting.”

As 2013 opens, it has been 27 years since the world experienced a month that was colder than average.

The US drought continues (on, for example, Texas and Oklahoma), with predictions for a damaged winter wheat crop, continued threats to navigation on the Mississippi River, water restrictions in more areas, …

This list is US dominated and isn’t even complete for just the United States — and yet this is not dominating the public discussion, “The Village” seems at best blase (with more concern over the Fiscal Cliff molehill than the Climate Cliff fissure), and the situation isn’t being addressed (essentially in no country — although some are better than others) with anything like the urgency required. Should anyone wonder why those with the most extensive knowledge about climate change science are “gloomy” at the global inaction?

So what I’m going to be doing over the next several weeks, next several months, is having a conversation, a wide-ranging conversation with scientists, engineers and elected officials to find out what can — what more can we do to make short-term progress in reducing carbons, and then working through an education process that I think is necessary, a discussion, the conversation across the country about, you know, what realistically can we do long term to make sure that this is not something we’re passing on to future generations that’s going to be very expensive and very painful to deal with.

Last night, amid consideration of Hurricane Sandy relief financing in the House, Republican after Republican trotted out global warming denier nonsense with scant regard for truth and disdain for truthful engagement in policy discussions.

While those most knowledgeable are becoming increasingly “scared” and”gloomy” (if not outright terrified) and climate chaos devastation mounts around the globe, Anti-Science Syndrome suffering Haters Of a Livable Economic System gloat in their power in the House of Representatives and we are treated to rumors about a “bipartisan summit”.

Action is required … we have long had an imperative for working to avert catastrophic impacts from climate change. We are, in fact, already suffering what any reasoned person would view as catastrophes (Sandy, anyone …?). We have the potential for reducing future impacts and for averting human civilization’s hurtling over the Catastrophic Climate Chaos Cliff if we begin to treat the situation with the urgency and seriousness required.

Rumors about bipartisan summits doesn’t meet this necessity nor do they pass any sanity check about seriousness for engaging in the fight to protect humanity from Climate Disruption.